Ex-Bush attorney will undergo psychiatric exam

Published 8:00 pm, Monday, June 7, 2010

A former Bush administration attorney accused of trying to kill his wife in January posted bond Monday and admitted himself to a mental health facility in Hartford.

John Michael Farren posted $750,000 bond at state Superior Court in Stamford and immediately left the courthouse for the Institute of Living in Hartford, according to his attorney Tim Moynahan.

Farren, 57, arrived at the hospital Monday afternoon and will undergo a psychiatric evaluation as stipulated in the release conditions approved by Judge Richard Comerford last week.

Under the conditions of his bond, Farren must undergo psychiatric treatment. Should he decide to leave before completing treatment, the hospital will not release him for 72 hours and will immediately notify the state's attorney and bail commissioner of Farren's intentions.

After the leaving the center, he will stay at a relative's home in West Hartford, where he will be placed under house arrest and monitored by a GPS device.

He is not permitted to travel beyond a 20-mile radius of the home and may only leave West Hartford for doctor visits, meetings with his attorney, court appearances and religious services.

He was also ordered to surrender his passport to the court.

Farren must refrain from contacting his estranged wife, their two daughters or any relatives of Mary Farren, who suffered a broken nose and jaw and several cuts to her head and face during a vicious attack in January.

Farren is accused of nearly bludgeoning his wife to death with a large metal flashlight during an argument at their New Canaan home about the couple's pending divorce.

The divorce proceedings ended in April with Mary Farren winning a $4.1 million settlement. Judge Barbara Brazzel-Massaro ruled that the attack rendered Mary Farren unable to financially provide for her two children.

However, John Farren was permitted to keep enough money to post his bond and pay his attorneys.

Farren climbed the political ladder and became undersecretary for international trade in the Commerce Department under former President George H.W. Bush. He also served as deputy manager for the elder Bush's 1992 re-election campaign and deputy director for his transition team in 1989.